Friday 29 September 2017 14:02, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has hailed Harry Winks as the 'perfect midfielder' and says he can help Tottenham unlock tough defences this season.
Winks impressed during his second start of the season in the 3-0 Champions League win over Apoel Nicosia on Tuesday after recently recovering from an ankle ligament injury sustained at Burnley at the start of April.
Spurs play Huddersfield live on Sky Sports this Saturday and although all of Winks' Premier League appearances this season have come from the bench, Pochettino has praised the 21-year-old and says he adds different qualities to his side.
"For me, he is the perfect midfielder, who can play box-to-box and like a holding midfielder," Pochettino said.
"He has the quality and capacity to play and use the demand of the game and read it.
"He's so clever, and we are so happy that he starts to feel better now because he provides to the team qualities that we don't have.
"Winks is completely different to our other midfielders like Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko. He has qualities to add to the team that are completely different."
Dembele and Wanyama are both out of contention for Saturday, nursing ankle and knee injuries respectively, and Pochettino believes Winks could offer some attacking inspiration if called upon in the coming weeks.
"Can he help us unlock defences? Yes, he is one of the options we have in different games to use," Pochettino said.
"We celebrate that because to have the possibility to have him on the team provides us with more quality and more options to play in a different way."
